Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Easy Tomato Soup with chunks of bread

The days have become real cold here. There are some beautiful warmer days scattered in between but mostly it is cold. My Mother says this winter in Kolkata is unusually cold too. But I am sure it is nothing like here. There, the cold has a distinct fragrance. If trapped in a bottle and named "Le Winter" it would smell like wood smoke, laced with sweet nolen gur, spiked with a hint of citrus-y komla-lebu, all layered on an undertone of napthalene scented kashmiri shawls.

Okay, you might also bring in smog but I like to think that the winters I spent in my Dida's house years ago almost always smelt like this. Also of slightly burn toast with orange marmalade.

Here, it just smells clean and crisp and not cold at all if you are indoors on a sunny winter day. But then you slide open the glass door to the backyard an inch and through the fine wire mesh comes the cold, brutal and sharp. But we have gotten used to it. Except for the gloomy cold days, which I dread, we kind of like the sunny wintry days. It is always about the sun , isn't it ? We get by, neither fearing winter as much as I did earlier nor looking forward to snow with as much excitement as my first time.

Of course the kids bicker about wearing jackets and boots and ear muffs and zipping the jacket all the way and other such clothing issues, I bicker about cold tiled floors and not having enough drapes for the windows yet, the husband bickers about my need to rush outside or rather make him rush outside for all kinds of groceries at odd hours.

"Why do you need vine ripened tomatoes at 8 in the evening ?", he asks.

As if, there is a time for such things.
As if the need for firm, ripe on the vine tomatoes arises after consulting the Ponjika for the right muhurtam.
As if just because tomato soup was never my thing, I can't crave a bowl of warm tomato soup now.
As if just because the only tomato soup I would ever have was the creamy deliciousness at Nagarjuna in Banglaore and whose recipe I do not know, I can never try to make another one.
As if, if a recipe is easy and can translate to quick dinner I will let that opportunity pass.

Do I look like a fool ?

But this day I had only one tomato in my refrigerator and half a can of Hunt's Diced tomatoes. And I craved a tomato soup, a hot (as in the temperature) one. Of course no sympathetic soul was venturing to get me vine ripened tomatoes shipped from Florida and currently in residence at the neighborhood grocery store. So when I sawthistomato soup, I took the plunge. And good I did, and good I had the canned version too, for this soup with a Michelin tire tomato would have not tasted half as good. Too many "good" there but that is how this soup is. The bread makes it special.

And surprisingly both the girls ate it with much eagerness. Either they were very hungry for it was a school day or this soup was good. I am sure they will refuse to eat it by the fourth time or the fifth. I can't stretch my luck. But hopefully by then I will move on to another soup.

Saute till the onion has turned soft and pink. I also added a carrot peeled and cubed to add some sweetness to the soup but it is not in the original recipe.

Now add the tomato. I added 1 medium sized tomato chopped and about 3-4 cups of diced tomatoes from a can. Note: In an alternate version you can cut plump, juicy tomatoes in half, dust them with salt, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 30 minutes in the oven for 350F.

Sprinkle salt to taste, a little paprika, 1/2 tsp of brown sugar and mix. I also added a bit of cajun seasoning which I happened to have.

Now let the tomatoes cook at a low medium heat. Stir in between and wait for the raw smell to just go evaporate.

Next add a cup of water and about 1/2cup of milk and stir to mix everything. With an immersion blender, blend the soup. Let the soup simmer to a boil. Taste at this point and adjust for seasoning.

Meanwhile, cut chunks of bread, douse them with olive oil and throw them in the toaster oven to toast. Lightly toasted is what you want, not crisp like croutons.

While serving ladle the soup out in a bowl, add grated parmesan and toss in the chunks of toasted bread. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste and eat it to warm your chilled bones.

Recently I came across a site called CupoNation which provides vouchers and coupons valid for variety of stores in India. I am not much of a coupon person myself, always losing the ones I get and thus never being able to redeem them in time. But if it is your thing I think that site is great and can help you get great deals in this holiday season.

18 comments:

The first picture looks so good.. it's been cold here too. Of course not as cold as it must be at your place. I remember visiting Calcutta during Christmas time couple of years back. It was beautiful! Imagine always having your sweater on..:) for a madrasi, it was a trilling experience...love that set of soup with bread..

I never knew winter back home. You are right though the sun makes all the difference. The canned tomatoes in winter are a better idea methinks, the fresh ones are just orange orbs with water in them. Not a tomato soup fan but the bread does make it look enticing.

Sometimes I find the winter chil to be very refreshing too. I am NOT a winter person but I like the seasonal variation in our area. I wish I could have a bowl of hot tomato soup with some basil in it and a crusty bread now.

I know few years back hans went to Kolkatta in December and he said it was cool there of course he must have been comparing with the heat he usually had in Juylly/August in India.Just reading the recipe i am drooling here for tha bowl of soup as it is also cold here, positive thing is i am waiting for Hans to come home in 10 minutes and i know i am having soup too but then it is mushroom :-)

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Predominantly a Bong, who loves being a Mom and loves to cook among other things for the li'l one and the big ones.She loves to write too and you will find her food spiced up with stories. Mainly a collection of Bengali Recipes with other kinds thrown in, in good measure. A Snapshot of Bengali Cuisine